Some say only a few chosen men are born to become legends. Brought into this world to achieve greatness and inspire the rest of humanity. But it is more wiser to say that everyone has a chance to become either a hero, a champion or a living legend if only one would choose to take the path and live the life of greatness.

Photo by Tommy Schultz via mylifeonboard.net.

Philmar Alipayo is one of Philippines’ top surfing contender in the Asian Surfing Championships today. Born and raised in the surfing capital of the country, Gen. Luna, Siargao Island, Philmar has gained accolades and trophies from various surfing competitions locally and overseas. He recently won West Sumbawa Pro in Indonesia last 2016. Locals of Siargao have already dubbed Philmar as one of the “barrel masters” in the island, showcasing exceptional tube-riding performances in every competition he’s on.

Philmar got inspired with the growing community of bike building and was prompted to start his own project. He easily got connected to Benjo Sun of 3B Customs, who coincidentally was based in Surigao City, the mainland of Siargao.

“One day, while I was checking my accounts online, I noticed there was a PM. It was from Philmar and said that he saw Luke Landrigan’s post of his new bike. He wanted to have one built for himself as well. Philmar had a bike lying around their place which was his father’s bike. He said he wanted a bike for cruising around the island that will take him and his board to his favorite surf spots.”

Philmar sent Benjo a photo of his concept for the build and then sent his old bike to 3B Custom’s garage right away.

“I told Philmar that the idea was very doable but I would have to add some of my personal touches to the bike. Every bike build that I do is different in some way. No bike is ever similar. A few weeks later he sent me the bike, I kept my hopes down as I know that coming from the island it will have some rust on it. Lo and behold, I wasn’t far off.”

“So I wasted no time and had a tear down. It was really in bad shape; the water did a number on the carb, the cylinder, the piston was stuck already, so too were the valves, the crank case had water in it as well, the brake levers were also missing.”

The head of 3B Customs gave us a rundown of how they modified Philmar’s bike.

“Like with my last build, we rewelded and changed some parts of the frame since it had some cracks, holes and rot on some parts. We custom made a rear fender and changed the carburetors. We redid most of its electrical wirings; converted the contact point to cdi, changed the headlights, turn signals and tail lights. For the tires, we changed the rims and replaced the tires with more beefier ones.”

“We also made a custom seat pan, a custom leather seats that matches the leather grips and a custom free flow pipe. We hid the battery on this one as well, a little trick I picked up a few builds back which gives it a more minimalist look. A surf moto build for the island wouldn’t be complete without a surfboard rack so we made him one as well. It was wrapped in foam for protection and cushioning, with hand sewn leather wrapped on the outside.”

“Overall this was a fun build!”

Customizations of motorcycles are now starting to grow in different branches. Though aesthetics has always been the main priority in every build, nowadays it is essential that modular components of this vehicular medium should also be explored to maximize the potential of every bike.

Another well-executed build from the staple custom garage of Surigao city. Kudos to Benjo Sun and his team at 3B Customs!